SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Fusenews
  • Reviews
  • Librarian Previews
  • Best Books
    • Top 100
    • Best Books of 2022
    • Best Books of 2021
    • Best Books of 2020
    • Best Books of 2019
    • Best Books of 2018
    • Best Books of 2017
    • Best Books of 2016
    • Best Books of 2015
    • Best Books of 2014
    • Best Books of 2013
  • Fuse 8 n’ Kate
  • Videos
  • Press Release Fun

July 22, 2019 by Betsy Bird

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey, ill. Gustaf Tenggren

July 22, 2019 by Betsy Bird   7 comments

It seems very odd to me that one of the most commercially successful children’s books to ever be published in the United States has an almost entirely obscure author to its name. The mystery of Janette Sebring Lowrey hangs over our latest episode of this podcast. Neither Kate nor I had ever read this book before, and yet it bragged back in 2001 of having sold nearly 15 million copies. The illustrator’s wife once joked that the artist was pleased that he’d given the Bible a “run for its money”. But is it actually any good? We consider The Poky Little Puppy on all his roly-poly glory.

Listen to the whole show here on Soundcloud or download it through iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, PlayerFM, or your preferred method of podcast selection.

Show Notes:

Let’s take a nice long gaze at the author of this book. This is the image that Leonard Marcus managed to find and publish in his book Golden Legacy: How Golden Books Won Children’s Hearts, Changed Publishing Forever, and Became an American Icon Along the Way (older book jacket for that book seen below).

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Just to give you a sense of what we’re dealing with here, I found that all copies of this book were gone from my library and so I had to settle with handing Kate this:

To cram as many Little Golden Book tales into one package as humanly possible, they had to change the design significantly. As a result, the first page of the Puppy’s story looks like this:

Which is all well and good, until you realize that the caterpillar here is now roughly the same size as the puppies. And it looks like it’s definitely gunning for the orange one.

As Kate says, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Frog & Toad and Tuesday, it’s that frogs are green and toads are brown.” We know toads. We have seen toads. And you, sir, are no toad.

I’m enough of a Looney Tunes graduate to appreciate the old written sign gag ala Wile E. Coyote. And I’m rather delighted by the notion that either the puppy’s mom or some human who owns the puppies is writing these signs, forgetting the simple fact that puppies can’t read.

Of course, of all the signs, this next one is my favorite. Let’s diagram this sentence a bit, shall we? Just break it down:

NO desserts EVER UNLESS puppies NEVER dig holes under this fence AGAIN (stresses my own). Holy moly.

By the way, how awesome is this image of Ursula Nordstrom (who I literally didn’t think had anything to do with this book)?

You could have a lot of fun reading the Gabriel Roth Slate article Why So Poky? The Scourge of Terrible Canonical Children’s Books. Seemed pertinent to our podcast, don’t you think?


Filed under: Fuse 8 n' Kate

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
Fuse 8 n' KateGustaf TenggrenJanette Sebbing LowreyThe Poky Little Puppy

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

March 2023

Fuse 8 n' Kate: Gerald McBoing Boing by Dr. Seuss

by Betsy Bird

March 2023

Fuse 8 n' Kate: A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon

by Betsy Bird

March 2023

Fuse 8 n' Kate: Curious George Goes to the Hospital by Margaret & H.A. Rey

by Betsy Bird

February 2023

Fuse 8 n' Kate: The Mitten by Jan Brett

by Betsy Bird

February 2023

Fuse 8 n' Kate: A Valentine for Norman Noggs by Valiska Gregory, ill. Marsha Winborn

by Betsy Bird

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

2023 Books from Pura Belpré Winners

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Newbery / Caldecott 2024: Spring Prediction Edition

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Pardalita | Preview

by Brigid Alverson

Heavy Medal

March suggestions: early Mock Newbery possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Why Teens Should Read Hard History, a guest post by Lesley Younge

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey Try Something New

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

SLJ’s Reviews of the 2021 National Book Award for Young People's Literature Finalists

2022 Notable Books: NCTE's 21 Best Poetry and Verse Novels for Kids

SLJ Reviews of the 2021 Youth Media Awards

Bank Street Announces Winner of Best Spanish Language Picture Book Award

SLJ Reviews of the 2023 Youth Media Award Winners

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Uly says

    July 22, 2019 at 1:33 am

    How about supervising your puppies so they won’t dig under the fence, sign-writer? THIS IS NOT SO HARD. BE A COMPETENT PET OWNER.

    (This is actually how we got our poodle. The neighbor who starved and neglected him claims that everybody on our block took turns “stealing” him, but in fact she lost him repeatedly due to her own careless negligence. If you’re going to leave your toy poodle alone outside in an ungated yard, looking like nobody loves him, that’s on you. I told her I’d bring her to the shelter if I found him in MY yard again, and I did. And then I picked him up from the shelter, and if she didn’t bother to go down there during the 4-day waiting period and pick him up herself, that’s not my fault either. Probably just as well she didn’t – at first, they thought he was my dog and they were talking about pressing charges. Man, I am never going to forgive that neighbor for what she did to this animal.)

  2. Myra Zarnowski says

    July 22, 2019 at 8:08 am

    I have always loved THE POKY LITTLE PUPPY, but as you suggest it is not for its literary qualities. I remember my father reading it to me and how he sounded. When I read it as an adult, I was much less impressed, yet I still keep a copy of it on my bookshelf. I can’t part with it. I guess this is evidence of the importance of reading aloud to promote love of books… the impact of our memories of reading.

  3. Emily Schneider says

    July 22, 2019 at 8:31 am

    I would like to respond in as quiet and understated a way as I can to your, admittedly very funny, assault on The Poky Little Puppy. First, its popularity is definitely out of proportion to its quality. No doubt, some people purchase it only because they remember it from their childhood. The abridged version in the collected Golden Books makes the caterpillar look huge, but in the real book it has its own page, so let’s dismiss that.
    The mom is punitive, reflecting normal child rearing of the time. The same is true for Peter Rabbit. You obviously have to discuss that with kids when you read it. Any book which is not contemporary requires explaining how things were different in the past. This is a good thing!
    I believe that rice pudding has a distinct sugary cinnamon smell.
    Dogs can read in the imaginary world of books. Yes, I know you know that! I’m just pointing out that children get that dogs don’t normally read, and that is part of the appeal of letting them read in a book.
    The crazy grammar with double negatives is, again, part of the appeal, especially when reading the signs dramatically out loud to children.
    Lots of books of this era are extremely racist and sexist. Maybe the Poky Little Puppy should earn extra points for not being so.
    I really disliked the Slate article. Your podcast is funny; the article was not. It was snarky and dismissive, with an easy sense of superiority to people with nostalgia for books which their grandmothers read them. Does the author still have his grandmother? Did he ever have one? Is it bad to remember one’s grandmother or the books she read with nostalgia?
    One other interesting point about the early Golden Books, and other picture books of this era, is that they have way more text in proportion to pictures than any picture books would have today. I often wonder if children actually had the patience to listen to the entire book until they were older.
    I notice that you ignore the modern “sequels” written by different authors, and with good reason. They are not masterpieces. There is one, The Poky Little Puppy Comes to Sesame Street, which is part of its own genre, classic children’s book characters who visit contemporary books or other media.
    I get that it’s fun to gently mock outdated references and values in children’s books. The Golden Books are full of this, including several about mommies and daddies and their accepted roles. The Poky Little Puppy is much quirkier and even inconsistent. That’s why it is a good book.

  4. Jen P. says

    July 22, 2019 at 9:44 am

    Oh, this is the family favorite!! Each time we welcome a new little member, they get this book. I was at BookExpo a few years ago and snagged a Poky Little Puppy tote bag!!! It went to my oldest niece at her baby shower for her first child – full of books, of course.

  5. Mary Zisk says

    July 22, 2019 at 10:59 am

    My childhood favorite! Primarily for the yummy gorgeous illustrations, then the roly-poly refrain. And those puppies! Too cute with their chubby bodies. Fantastic illustrators of Little Golden Books like Tenggren, Garth Williams, Feodore Rojankovsky, and others inspired me to become an art director whose greatest pleasure has been working with illustrators.

  6. Rams says

    July 22, 2019 at 4:15 pm

    Ruh-roh! Better deep-six any plans to skewer The Saggy Baggy Elephant…

  7. Rams says

    July 27, 2019 at 3:31 pm

    Meanwhile, a double-take: Margaret? Annette? Mickey Mouse Club? Durned tootin’! Annette played a country girl originally spurned by the cool kids in her new town (Mary Wickes was the housekeeper,) and a meant-to be-corny song was a bit of a hit for her. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7sUb82zzUrg

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • External Links

    • A Fuse #8 Production Reviews
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023